


All Peter Could Say Was "Wow"

by Mollygail



Category: White Collar
Genre: Fluff, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-01
Updated: 2020-03-31
Packaged: 2020-07-28 07:26:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20060245
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mollygail/pseuds/Mollygail
Summary: Diana tries out the new facial recognition software





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I guess this is set sometime in the second season. I don't know much about facial recognition software but the facts are not important to me. This is fun fluffy fiction so let go of your need for facts. ;)

Peter walked into the office early on Monday and was surprised to see Diana already working at her desk. 

“Good morning, Boss. Where’s Caffrey?” 

“He went to get us some ‘good coffee’. You know what a princess he can be about his coffee. What are you working on so early?”

Diana’s gaze scanned the room cautiously. There were only a few people around and they were busy getting coffee and discussing their weekends. Once she felt sure no one would overhear she started to explain. 

“I thought I’d come in early and try out the new facial recognition software they installed on Friday. I just wanted to see if it was as big an improvement as they said. So, I decided to use our favorite conman as a test subject.” Diana looked over her shoulder before turning back to her computer and clicking away at her keyboard. 

“Diana…” there was a warning tone in Peter’s voice. “Please tell me you didn’t find evidence of criminal activity.” There were times he doubted the wisdom of taking Neal out of prison.

“No, no nothing like that. What I did was run a search for digitized media dating back before Caffrey came up on the FBI radar. You know, the years that are still a mystery to us. Anyway, I got a hit. Look at this.” She clicked on a picture to enlarge it and moved the computer screen for Peter to get a better look. “Is that our resident conman?”

“Wow, it sure looks like him. He looks awfully young there though. Are those braces on his teeth?”

“Yeah, and look there.” She pointed to the chin area of the picture. “Acne. According to our records, he would have been nineteen when this picture appeared in the St. Louis newspaper. But, now look at the article that goes with the picture.” She started reading the article out loud.  
“‘Yesterday afternoon started out as just another ordinary day at the Burger Shack on Caroline Street. A mother with a toddler was placing an order when the child started choking. Without a second’s pause Danny Brooks, the cashier on duty, took the child and performed lifesaving first aid. Bystanders called 911 but Brooks had already dislodged the choking hazard, a button, and the child was crying loudly when the EMT’s arrived.’ The article goes on to call seventeen-year-old Danny a hero and then they interviewed the Burger Shack manager who said, ‘Danny is our most dedicated employee. He’s a great kid who is always willing to go the extra mile. He’s a straight-A student, works here part-time and volunteers at the nursing home down the street. I’m not surprised that he would come to someone’s rescue. He’s planning to become a police officer when he finishes school. He wants to follow in his father’s footsteps’.” 

All Peter could say was “wow”. 

“What do you want me to do with this, Boss?”

Peter looked up when he heard the elevator ping. Neal stepped off the elevator but he was busy talking to Blake. “Print out a copy for me, Diana, and then delete your search. I don’t know what happened to change heroic Danny into our favorite conman but, without evidence of a crime, it doesn’t need to go into his file. Does it?”

“No, Boss, I don’t think it does. It sure does make you wonder what happened though, doesn’t it?”

Neal entered the office with a tray of coffees. “Good morning, Diana. I brought you a cup of coffee. Do we have something interesting to look at this morning?”

Peter looked over at Neal and shook his head. “Nope. It’s starting out as just another ordinary day.” He accepted the cup of coffee that Neal held out for him. “Thanks, Neal. I appreciate you going the extra mile for this.” 

Diana smirked slightly and turned away.

Neal felt like he was missing something but couldn’t figure out why Peter was acting peculiarly. “The coffee shop is only a block away, Peter; not a mile.”

“Right. Okay. Let’s get some work done.” Peter climbed the stairs to his office feeling confident that he had made a good decision when he got Neal out of prison.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Neal has been 'dead' for a year-and-a-half and Diana figures it can't hurt anything to try out the updated facial recognition software using Neal's photo. Dead men tell no tales, right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the second chapter that no one asked for. Just some fluff and silliness that popped into my head. Although, I really hate the title of this story. 
> 
> I hope you all are doing okay wherever you are.

Peter finished reading the last of the reports in his in-box, scribbled his name, and stacking it in the ‘completed’ pile. He looked at the clock; it was only ten-fifteen on a dreary Monday morning. He leaned back in his chair and sighed as he spun around to look out of the window. He was bored. He missed being a field agent. He missed Neal. 

He smiled slightly as he remembered that day a few months ago when he had figured out that Neal was alive. Since then, most of the items from the storage unit had been returned to their rightful owners and things had returned to normal in the White Collar Unit; normal and boring. He spun his chair back to his desk and picked up his mug to drink his coffee, which was not only bitter but also cold. 

He started to get up to get some ‘fresh’ coffee but stopped when his cell phone rang. He smiled when he saw the caller ID.

“Diana, how are things in DC these days? Are you and Theo doing ok?”

“We’re great, boss. How are you all doing?”

“Fine, fine. El and I have both been spending more time at home and Little Neal is doing great. He’s such a smart little fellow.”

“Just like his namesake?”

“Yeah. Neal was the smartest man I ever knew, except for Mozzie, of course. I wonder what Neal’s IQ was.”

“Maybe you should ask him someday.”

“What? Diana, he’s…ya know…dead.”

“Is he really? Because I’ve got a reason to believe otherwise.”

Peter slammed his fist against his desk in frustration. Why couldn’t Neal just have laid low on a tropical island? If he was on Diana’s radar he must be up to his old tricks.

“Boss? I’m right, aren’t I?” The silence was all the answers that Diana needed. “Can we talk in private about this tonight? I’m headed for New York right now and I should be there in a few hours.”

“Sure, come over for dinner and show me what you’ve found. Thanks for calling, Diana.”

Peter stood up and slipped his cellphone into his pocket. He shut off his computer and put on his coat. He wanted his life to stay boring if the alternative was chasing and arresting his friend. 

“Jones, I’ve got some things to take care of so I’ll be out the rest of the day. Call me if you need me for anything.”

“Sure thing, Peter. Is everything ok?”

“I hope so. I’ll let you know if it’s not.”

Jones nodded and Peter turned to walk down the stairs. Maybe he had inherited Peter’s gut when he was promoted to Peter’s old job, but something didn’t feel right. Peter was acting secretive. Jones remembered all the secrets Peter and Diana had kept from him and the old feeling of resentment came back. He shook his head and forced the resentment out of his head. The secrets had all been Caffrey-related and Jones missed Caffrey. To allow himself to feel resentment seemed disloyal to his friend’s memory. 

Peter went home and used his personal computer to search the internet for any recent crimes that may have been committed by Neal. There were a few art heists in the last six months but none of them showed signs of Neal’s M.O. There was no style; no panache. They were just a slash-and-grab museum heist and a couple of home invasions. Peter sighed in frustration and went to the fridge for a beer. He took the beer to his recliner, turned on a ballgame, and texted El to let her know they would have company for dinner. All he could do now was wait for Diana to show him what she had found. 

**************

“Diana, where’s Theo?” 

Diana walked into the Burke house carrying her computer and laughed at her former boss’ question. “My parents were thrilled to get the chance to take care of him for a few days. How are you, Peter?”

“I’m good, just a little nervous to see what you’ve found. Come on in and show me what makes you think Neal’s alive.”

“Where’s Elizabeth and little Neal?” Diana sat down at the kitchen table and opened up her laptop. 

“Neal is taking a nap and El is picking up dinner. Can I get you something to drink?” Peter pulled a chair over next to where Diana sat so he could see the computer. 

“A bottle of water would be good.” She started clicking away at her computer and when Peter handed her the bottled water he sat down and saw that she had a Youtube video queued up. “So, do you remember when I ran that facial recognition search of Caffrey a few years ago? Well, they’ve upgraded the system again and I was trying it out on my lunch break yesterday. I’d been missing Neal and I thought I’d go ahead and see if anything new came up from his past. I mean, what could it hurt, right? Old newspapers are still being digitized and people are having videotapes transferred to digital format. A lot of Neal’s past is still a mystery to us. So, I did a search and instead of finding stuff from his past, I had a hit from a month ago. Here…” Diana clicked on the video and there was Neal sitting in a pub singing ‘Danny Boy’. 

Diana watched as a look of joy spread across Peter’s face. “You knew he was alive all this time, didn’t you?”

“No, for the first year I thought he was dead. Then he sent clues and I figured it out. He did it to protect us, Diana.” Peter watched as Neal finished singing and the video stopped. “When you said you had evidence that he was alive I thought he must be committing crimes again. Is this all you found?”

“No, I found a couple of other things, but nothing involving any crime. But look at this…” Diana clicked on the keyboard and opened a Facebook page. “This is a Facebook post by a woman searching for her son. She posted several pictures of Neal and says she hasn’t seen him since he was eighteen. Do you think you should contact him and let him know she’s looking for him?”

“I don’t have any way to contact him. I thought he might be in Paris but that video of him singing was posted by a pub in Galway.” 

“June might know how to contact him. If she can’t contact Neal she can probably get a message to Mozzie.”

“You’re right. I’ll go see her tomorrow.”

“There is one more video posted on Youtube. It looks like it must have been converted from VHS. Wait till you see this one, boss.” Diana grinned as she started the video.

Four young men, one of them a young-looking Neal, were standing on a stage dressed in matching striped coats as they stood around a microphone. They started to sing:

Hello my baby, hello my honey  
Hello my ragtime, gal  
Send me a kiss by wire, by wire  
Baby, my heart's on fire, on fire  
If you refuse me, honey, you lose me  
And you'll be left alone, oh baby  
Telephone, and tell me, I'm your own

“Did you know he sang in a barbershop quartet when he was in high school, boss?”

“I had no idea. Who would ever have imagined that the suave, sophisticated, internationally infamous conman was a geek in high school?”

“I’m really glad he’s alive and I hope he stays safe and out of trouble, but if I ever see him again…”

“You’re not going to let him live this down, are you, Diana?” 

“Not in a million years, Peter.” Diana smiled conspiratorially and asked, “Can I show this to Jones?”

“The Panthers are all either locked up or dead now. Woodford was killed in prison. We should all be safe now, so I guess it wouldn’t hurt to tell Jones. Let me see if he’s free for dinner.” Peter picked up his cell phone to make the call. 

“Jones is gonna love this, boss.”


End file.
